New Years, Celebrations, and FundRaising!

This newsletter has thoughts on events and actions around New Years if you need cash!

Sell registrations or products where nonprofit margins are tight and too many options are offered by others. Here are ten intel ideas to make your’s louder.

1.    Social Media  

We all rush to Facebook, Bluesky and Instagram for very good reasons. Millions have been made with these platforms. Remember to maintain a consistent posting schedule on social media. Use visuals like photos and videos of holiday events to make your content more celebrative.  

Additionally, use paid advertising on social media platforms to reach more people in your niche. Set an objective for your posts. In many cases, Facebook and Instagram are for stories to attract new clients and give positive attention to current clients. Most people respect the stories of others who already have gotten results. They want to join a successful story.

Generic advice posts for the new year that help people regardless of whether they will be clients shows that you are sincere.

2.    Open Houses

A huge conversation opportunity at the beginning of the year. These can be formal announced events or popup events on the sidewalk. People who stop to find out more are just what you need to provide information about the issues they share, share or sell resources, and offer training or workshops. Amazingly, you will always find people who have never heard of the agency or had a misconception. It’s great to have a giveaway at an Open House that is related to your agency mission. Doubly effective in trust building if it’s an item of value – whether or not they use your services.

Invite a couple of good clients to make brief comments. Most people respect the stories of others who already have gotten results. They want to join a successful story!

3.    Newsletters

 Take your list of potential clients and keep reminding them of the pain that they have and your solution. They need to turn the page and not repeat last year! Most solutions to real pain require time, money, or both. It takes most people time to evaluate alternatives, and some people wait to see if it’s possible to do nothing at all. The newsletter is a persistent reminder that help is at hand. Again, define the purpose of the newsletter so that there is consistency in what gets published. If the newsletter is to help people choose, then success articles and regular special offers may be very important.

Invite a couple of good clients to write testimonials. Most people respect the stories of others who already have gotten results. They want to join a successful story! (Have you seen this comment above? 😊)

4.    Authority Based Marketing

When people are uncertain, they give special attention to solutions with authority. Some of your posts on social media should show that you are an influencer in your nonprofit sector. It’s relatively simple to publish a book, offer to speak at a conference, or get a certificate from a well-known university. All of these techniques force you to get better in your area of expertise, but they also give confidence to people who are considering your service. Promote your latest certificate that adds value to your work!

5.    Word of Mouth

Delighting current clients takes some time to build, but it’s the most durable of methods. When Arturo Sanchez saw all the choices for a summer program for his daughter, he listened most to his sister and cousin who were delighted with their own children’s experiences at Woodside Camp Jamboree. Some of the options were closer or cheaper, but Arturo wanted the best for winter break. Word of mouth marketing made his choice simple.

6.    Artifacts

Business cards, imprinted pens or key chains, and a thousand other artifacts can put a reminder about the value of Windsor Senior Center in someone’s pocket.  Their holiday giveaway was a calendar with a picture of members wrapping gifts from the toy drive. The words underneath were ‘Friends together to help others’

The artifacts are also one more comfort to a potential client that Windsor Senior Center is a stable agency for their mother to use. Windsor Senior Center has their name on all of these products so they must be well-funded. Right?

7.    Trial Offers

Some nonprofit services can act like public goods for a short time. Topanga AfterSchool is not full. They decided to offer a free one-week trial registration in January to families who inquire. Tina is in third grade and her mother decides to take the free trial. There is no cost at all to Topanga Afterschool because the class had space for an additional student without hiring another teacher. Many risk-free trials give clients the confidence to start registration and a great free trial frequently ends with a permanent registration.

8.    Brand Promises

When you promise results, word-of-mouth marketing dramatically reduces the cost of marketing. Start the new year with three brand promises. The first promise is a measurable result. Oquaga Food Bank promises that you will always find enough food to make a meal in thirty minutes. Sign up for Brooklyn Tutoring and you will improve any C average to B in 15 weeks. People are not used to companies making an actual promise that they stand behind. Craftsman makes a lifetime guarantee on their tools. My father and grandfather always purchased Craftsman tools.

9.    Brand Promise Guarantee

Oquaga Food Bank has an arrangement with a local restaurant. If they run short of food for the Brand Promise, the family gets a free meal at the restaurant. Craftsman has a guarantee to replace the tool without question if you bring it to a store. No receipt needed. Over a three-year period, the brand promise and guarantee are probably the most durable brand builder of all of these methods.

10.  Events 

We all remember special events in life. The first day of Kindergarten, the move to a new job. When those events were with an agency and well executed, they increase retention and create emotional bonds. Students in a school prize their own special events and look forward to special events in a higher grade. If your nonprofit service requires retention, two or three special events during the year are an amazing way to create that loyalty. Many of us make special gifts to our alma mater because of good memories. We may not remember Calculus 201, but we remember a Homecoming, a special event in the dining hall at Valentines Day, or an award ceremony in the History Department. Retention is the lowest cost method of registration for a program.

Set up a New Year’s event in January. Ask every client to bring a friend and it’s free! Happiness spreads!

If you are a nonprofit under six million in revenue, you can only focus on one or two of these methods to start. Assess your capacity and niche to discern which method might be right. One possible is to choose a leading method such as a risk-free trial and a lagging method such as the newsletter. The risk-free trial doesn’t take much extra capacity and has an immediate effect. The newsletter requires a volunteer or paid staff member since finding and creating pictures and articles takes time each week. The advantage is that you are reaching the slow-decision people who take time to evaluate alternative solutions.

I’m Ronald Tompkins, Managing Coach for TurnAround Nonprofit and Executive Coaching. Many leaders need team coaching to support them as they lead and change their nonprofit. If you watch this as a board member, ask your Executive Director to involve the Board and team in coaching. You can contact me for Team Coaching at 646 824 4647.

Thanks for joining me today and I’ll watch for you in January!